PANAJI
Panaji police are likely to write to the Forest Department seeking details of any internal inquiry into the controversial disappearance of a crucial file on Goa’s proposed tiger reserve. The move comes days after police registered a theft case under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code, nearly two years after the original complaint was lodged.
Police sources admitted that the Forest Department’s complaint was treated as a routine loss report, which was strictly based on the complaint filed. It was only after the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) pressed for accountability that police reclassified the case under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code.
“The department’s complaint led us to treat it as a missing/loss report. But after the CEC’s directions, we registered it as theft,” a senior official said.
The police have now emphasised that they require cooperation from the Forest Department to take the investigation further. “We want some leads to track the file. Hence, we will first inquire with the department to determine if any internal inquiry has been conducted into the missing file. If yes, we will ask for a report,” the source added.
The missing file pertains to the tiger reserve proposal, which the Forest Department had finalised in 2018. During the Supreme Court proceedings on September 16, the petitioner NGO Goa Foundation pointed out that the file had gone missing. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) admitted in court that the document could no longer be traced.
Sources confirmed to The Goan that the department did not initiate any internal inquiry into how the file disappeared. The Deputy Conservator of Forest, North (Wildlife), eventually filed a missing complaint with the Panaji police.
